Chapter 170 - 170 Twenty-seven

Words : 1276 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

170: Twenty-seven. Nameless Tentacles Floating Above the Clouds 170: Twenty-seven. Nameless Tentacles Floating Above the Clouds The closet only contained stacks of clothes and patched bedding, the smell of mold due to the dampness drifted out from inside. Just an ordinary, unremarkable closet, as if everything Lu Li saw yesterday was merely a bizarre dream. If there had been no attack by the blood-colored tentacles, Lu Li would indeed think so. Without a doubt, the blood-colored tentacles were the culprit behind the holes in Claire’s forehead. And now, the blood-colored tentacles had burrowed into Lu Li’s forehead, currently hiding in some part of his skull, waiting for an opportunity to act. The ticking of the clock’s moving hands emitted an almost imperceptible sound, each movement signifying that Lu Li had safely made it to the next second. Unnoticed, the hands ticked for the hundredth time, or perhaps a hundred and something times, sometimes the noisy sounds from the street drowned out the ticking. Lu Li’s mind didn’t become incapable of thinking, nor did it acquire a mess of memories, nor did any strange voices arise. Everything as usual, everything as before, as if nothing had happened, as if... the calm before the storm. “Go find a mirror.” The sudden voice startled the ghostly youth who had been staring blankly at the scene. He nodded as if afraid that Lu Li might regret it, and hastily left Claire’s house. Lu Li waited for two minutes, during which nothing unusual happened to him, and the ghostly youth did not reappear with the mirror. It seemed he wasn’t coming back. Since nothing unusual had occurred in the minutes following the attack, Lu Li began to wonder if there might be a turn of events. Undoubtedly, the blood-colored tentacles originated from the thing that Richard held. “He bewitched us, lured us with the promise of rebirth... He succeeded, we couldn’t resist the temptation of rebirth. Ulysses took a piece of flesh from that thing, and I gouged out its eye... O’Connor tore off one of its tentacles...” The words spoken by Hol before his death were recalled by Lu Li, and the tentacles acquired by O’Connor seemed to be the same ones that attacked Lu Li, a fact proven by Claire, who had once been used as the first test subject by Richard and failed. But shouldn’t the blood-colored tentacles have been in O’Connor’s possession, so why did they appear at Claire’s house? Moreover, Lu Li had stared directly at it and should have lost his mind and gone mad like those pitiful police officers. But at least for now, there was no change in Lu Li’s emotions or thoughts, does this imply that the tentacles lost some of their strange properties after leaving their host, or was it something else? At this thought, Lu Li realized that his thoughts were straying and refocused a portion of his thoughts on contemplating this recent encounter. There had to be some mystery connection between the blood-colored tentacles and the time floors in the cabinet. And since Lu Li had navigated the time floors successfully and received a peculiar “wish,” did this mean that Lu Li had passed some kind of test... This became the reason why Lu Li had not gone mad or died, he had passed some sort of “judgment” by the blood-colored tentacles. Claire might have encountered it too, but she might have retreated in the time floors or couldn’t withstand the test, or something else, in any case, she failed, so she went mad. The returning ghostly youth interrupted Lu Li’s thoughts, carrying a frameless mercury mirror back to the bedroom. Lu Li said nothing, took the mirror from the ghostly youth who had a sycophantic smile on his face, and looked at his forehead. The forehead was as smooth as before, not even a red mark was left. This made Lu Li want to ask the ghostly youth whether the blood-colored tentacles just now had really existed. But as he slightly turned his head, he saw something like invisible threads fluttering outside the reflected window in the mirror. Lu Li shifted his gaze and turned around, his eyes falling on the clouds outside the window. His dark pupils gradually narrowed, solidified. An indescribably bizarre scene was emerging in the sky. A hazy mist spread over the sky of Pingling City, and within it, blood-colored threads were faintly visible. They were ethereal yet real, unimaginably long, spanning the sky and earth. Their upper ends were hidden in the clouds, their destination unknown. The lower ends meandered downward, reaching towards the horizon. These blood-colored threads drifted into Pingling City, seemingly floating on the wind. Some extended downwards and anchored themselves, while others meandered slowly. “What is...that?” It seemed that only Lu Li could see this scene. The ghostly youth, curious because of Lu Li’s actions and peering outside, was oblivious to the ethereal blood threads weaving through the clouds. Was it some new kind of disaster, or an effect produced by the blood tentacles? Lu Li’s speculation leaned more towards the latter, considering they had burrowed into his brow just minutes ago, and he hadn’t heard any panic from the residents outside on the streets. But what did these threads represent? After quietly observing for a few seconds, Lu Li walked to the window and picked up a towel from the windowsill to wipe it. More dust and mold spores clung to the glass as the damp, musty towel smeared across it, making the window even more opaque. Lu Li put down the towel and simply opened the window. Cool air poured into the stifling bedroom, bringing clarity to the outside world. Lu Li, disregarding the glances of passersby on the street below, tilted his head back and fixed his gaze deep into the clouds. Blood-colored threads descended from the clouds, thick at their upper ends and appearing like a cluster of cylindrical structures made of phantom flesh and blood. The flesh-and-blood lines grew thinner as they descended until, a few hundred meters above the ground, they became nearly invisible at their extremities. They were like...tentacles. Or rather, blood tentacles. These wind-swaying tentacles, several kilometers long, exuded an unsettling, repulsive aura. Each direct gaze seemed to beckon a presence that whispered in one’s ear. Scene after scene incessantly surfaced in Lu Li’s mind. Relics, the deep sea abyss, murmured whispers. In a trance, Lu Li felt as if he caught the scent of deep-sea silt. “Will...will you spare me?” A hoarse voice beside him suddenly snapped Lu Li out of that twisted, gloomy world. It bore no malice, just a ghost that had materialized due to various accidents. “You can go now, and remember not to do anything bad.” “I’ve never done anything bad!” the trembling ghostly youth loudly assured, quietly adding to himself, unless pranks don’t count. The ghostly youth turned and slowly began to leave, seemingly worried about turning his back to Lu Li. Lu Li silently watched his translucent figure, his palm slowly rising towards his waist. “Glug—” The sound of swallowing saliva could faintly be heard. Behind the slowly departing figure, Lu Li’s raised hand fell onto the holster... and unbuckled it. Lu Li was never one to kill the innocent for his own gain. Even though it was his duty. After one last deep look at the clouds outside the window, Lu Li put the mirror back on the dresser, picked up the oil lamp, and stepped out of Claire’s home. Although he had encountered some unspeakable troubles, at least there was progress.

Chapter 170 - 170 Twenty-seven

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